Francis Xavier Sosu
The Ghana Police Service has secured Criminal Summons from court to facilitate the arrest of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu who has been evading arrest.
The Director-General of the Public Affairs Department of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori said yesterday that following the summons, the police are charging the MP for obstruction of public way, causing damage to other road users and unlawful damage.
The police lead spokesperson said the MP is expected to appear in court on November 8.
Case Background
The Madina MP’s blatant refusal to honour police invitation following the violent scenes recorded during the demonstration he organised on October 25, to push for good roads in his constituency, sparked heated debate on whether or not a Member of Parliament who has committed an offence can be arrested by the police.
Video Evidence
In one video, Sosu was captured instigating the youth to block roads and cause mayhem, and he later run to Parliament to claim that he was being harassed by the police and wanted the officers looking for him rather punished by the legislature.
Sosu has been evading arrest since the police made it clear that they are looking for him as part of the investigations into the violence, and has blatantly refused to honour the invitation, hiding behind parliamentary privileges.
The police have said that during the demonstration which occurred between Ayi Mensah and Amrahia in the Madina Constituency on Monday, October 25, the youth he had organised, blocked roads and burned tyres, caused destruction to property and even prevented an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman from seeking medical attention at the Dodowa District Hospital.
It took the intervention of the police from the Adentan Division to restore normalcy.
MP’s Bodyguard
In the ensuing heat, the police said the MP’s bodyguard who is also a policeman, drove dangerously through the crowd and put the lives of some senior officers at the scene in danger.
The policeman has since been interdicted by the Ghana Police Service.
Sosu after causing the chaos then run to Parliament to claim victim and rather caused the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to invite two top policemen who were instrumental in pressing for his arrest, to the Privileges Committee.
Church Drama
Last Sunday, the police determined to arrest the MP, reportedly swarmed a church in Madina where the MP was said to be preaching, but it was unclear if the law enforcers were there to effect the MP’s arrest.
Some of the NDC MPs thronged the Believers Church at Ritz Junction, Madina, to prevent the police from arresting the MP, and subsequently whisked him away in a vehicle.
Police Clarification
ACP Kwesi Ofori later clarified in a statement that they were not there to arrest the MP but rather to gather intelligence, saying “any plain-clothed Police Personnel found on the premises of the church may have been there for intelligence purposes and not to effect an arrest.”
Bagbin On Police
Yesterday, in what looks like an act of defiance, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin described as “disingenuous and a blatant affront” to Parliament, the attempt by the Ghana Police Service to arrest the NDC MP.
According to him, for the police to ignore his letter received on Friday, October 29, 2021, detailing the reasons the MP could not be released to assist in investigations, is a “clear violation of the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and gross disrespect” to him as Speaker and Parliament as an institution.
Mr. Bagbin expressed grave concern about the “recent attempts by the Police Service” to arrest the NDC MP, and said the manner and fashion of the said attempted arrest offend not just the latter, but the “very spirit that underpins our 1992 Constitution.”
Defending Policeman
The statement signed by the Deputy Clerk, Eric Owusu Mensah, on behalf of the Clerk to Parliament said the Speaker had taken notice of the ‘posture’ of the Ghana Police Service, including the interdiction of Inspector Daniel Agbavor, who was providing personal protection to the MP.
The Speaker asserted that the Ghana Police Service, instead of engaging him and the leadership of the House, “surreptitiously attempted” to arrest the MP on Sunday, November 1, 2021 whilst in church.
“The Rt. Hon. Speaker acknowledges that Members of Parliament are not above the law. The issue is not that a Member of Parliament cannot be investigated or arrested. The issue is the procedure to follow to investigate or arrest a Member of Parliament. It is worthy to note that several Members of Parliament from both sides of the House have been investigated, arraigned before court and tried since 1993,” he stated.
He continued, “Some Members are presently before various Courts of law and investigative bodies,” adding, “Indeed, the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies have investigated and continue to investigate Members of Parliament from both sides, and in all instances, the Office of the Speaker has engaged and facilitated the work of the Police Service.”
“Let it not be suggested per these happenings that Members of Parliament and Parliament are not subject to the Law. The Police Service is a vassal of the Constitution and a Statute passed by Parliament. It forms part of the Public Services of Ghana and equally must not uphold itself to be above the law,” he posited.
According to him, the privileges and immunities of Parliament, the Speaker, Members of Parliament and the Clerk, exist to guarantee the independence of the House and ensure that the Legislature is able to undertake its constitutional duties without unnecessary encumbrances and constraints.
“This is to create a conducive political polity to enable the Legislature respond appropriately and timeously to the needs and aspirations of the people. These privileges are part of rules and systems intended to strengthen Parliament to effectively and efficiently deliver on its mandate,” he said.
He stated that what is available to him as Speaker was that the NDC MP for Madina, in an attempt to lawfully discharge his mandate as a legislator, led his constituents to “exercise their freedom of assembly to demonstrate against the state of roads in the Madina Constituency.”
“From the facts provided by the Hon. Member, the Member complied with all the provisions of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491) and engaged the Police Service till the event took place. It must be made known that the Police Service proposed the new date for the demonstration after disagreeing with the initial date proposed by the Constituents.”
For the Speaker, it is difficult to comprehend that the MP, who had engaged the Ghana Police Service prior to the demonstration, would be the “subject of attempted arrest by the police in the company of the police contingent deployed to assist in the demonstration.”
“The Hon. Member was said to have been whisked from the scene by the bodyguard assigned to him by the Parliamentary Protection Unit as was expected of a bodyguard, especially in the mixed up of events that posed environmental threats on the safety of his Principal under discussion.”
“That such a bodyguard should be commended for discharging his duties lawfully and not condemned,” Mr. Bagbin noted.
He said the MP, believing that he was undertaking a lawful duty, “felt he had been distracted from the discharge of his functions, and in compliance with Article 122 of the 1992 Constitution, legitimately claimed the abuse of privilege of not only a Member but of Parliament as a whole.”
“It is instructive to note that, although a Member may allege contempt of Parliament, the ultimate decision of contempt or otherwise is based on the recommendation of a Committee of Parliament, the Committee of Privileges, and duly debated by the House before a decision is taken.”
The Speaker said the referral to the Committee of Privileges was made on October 27, 2021, and that despite the pendency of the referral, the Ghana Police Service wrote to him to release the Francis Xavier Kojo Sosu to report to the Police Headquarters to assist in investigations on Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 10 am.
“Mr. Speaker caused a response to be written noting that the House was sitting and a Member of Parliament could not be released to assist in investigations when the Member was attending proceedings or performing any duty of a Member of Parliament,” the statement indicated.
The statement noted that despite the pendency of the contempt complaint by the MP and the referral to the Committee of Privileges by the Speaker, the police decided to proceed with their decision to “attempt to arrest the Member.”
“This is a clear violation of the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and gross disrespect to the Rt. Hon. Speaker and Parliament. The response to the request of the Police Service was duly received by the Police Service on Friday, October 29, 2021.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu